Kenting (垦丁) is like the beach and surfing paradise of Taiwan. It is also the setting for a couple of Taiwanese movies and dramas, the ones which we loved most was Cape No. 7 (海角七號) starting Fan Yi-Chen (范逸臣) and Wayward Kenting (我在垦丁*天气晴) starring heartthrob Eddie Peng (彭于晏).

Private Chartered Day Tour from Kaohsiung to Kenting

Getting to Kenting from Kaohsiung by public transport can be rather bothersome and time-consuming. Once you reach Kenting, traveling to its various attractions can also prove to be a hassle.

Unless you have lots of time to spare (and we don’t…), getting a private day tour is a much better choice, especially if you are in a group and can spread the cost around. A private day tour also allows us to cover the key attractions of Kenting in comfort and all within a day. Because it is a private tour, it also allows us to personalize our itinerary and gives us the flexibility to decide on the amount of time we wanted to spend at each attraction.

Our private tour guide picked us up promptly at the Kindness Hotel in his cab. The tour would bring us to Kenting and back to the hotel all within 10 hours. Just like Taroko National Park in Hualien, Kenting is designated as a National Park (in fact, Kenting National Park is the oldest National Park in Taiwan). And just like Taroko, Kenting National Park also hugs the coastline of the Taiwan Peninsular. Therefore, be prepared for some spectacular coastal scenery throughout the day.

# 1: Heng Chun (恆春古城)

First stop for us was Heng Chun (恆春古城), also known as the gateway to Kenting.

What’s there to see at Heng Chun, you may ask. Heng Chun is a place of historical value, and the first thing you would notice are the fortress walls built to keep enemies from the sea at bay. Parts of these fortress walls are surprisingly well-preserved after more than a century, and all its 4 gates are still standing today.

While Tommy and our private guide discussed about the route for the day's itinerary, I took the opportunity to climb up the East Gate for some exploration.

Climbing up the East Gate was like attempting to climb a mini Great Wall of China, and with strong winds blowing and no hand rails to hold on, it almost felt like I would be blown off like a feather.

This looked exactly like a period drama! I could almost imagine guards in the olden time manning this fortress with their bows and arrows. But in modern times, this would serve only as a platform for viewing the surrounding scenery.

# 2: Cape No 7 (海角七號) Filming Sites

Historical sites aside, Heng Chun is actually the main filming site for Cape No. 7 (海角七號) and Wayward Kenting (我在垦丁*天气晴). And today, we were going to visit the home of the protagonist Ah-Jia (阿嘉) in the film Cape No. 7 (海角七號).

The home of A-Jia has now become a major tourist attraction even after almost a decade since the movie was released. For those of you who still remember the details of the movie, Ah-Jia’s room is at the second storey of this house, and admission tickets can be bought for a small fee which is not included in the tour.

At Ah-Jia’s home, you can choose to buy one of these wooden postcards to send home. There’s a mail post right outside for this purpose!

Along the way, we also passed by Grandma You-Zi’s home (友子阿嬤家), which bears the original address of Cape No. 7 in the movie.

#4: Hengchun Chuhuo Special Scenic Area (出火奇景)

Our last stop at Heng Chun was the Chuhuo special scenic area, located just past Heng Chun East Gate.

At this site, there are many fissures on the ground which emits natural gas and ignites on its own - something that looks like a miracle to the layman. During the rainy season, these fissures become filled with water and cannot ignite. Therefore, the best time to view the miracle is to visit in the spring and winter dry seasons.

#5: Pingtung Manchurian Port Drawbridge (港口吊橋)

This port drawbridge (港口吊橋) could go as far out as Jialeshui (佳樂水), which was supposedly our next scenic stop. However, to get on the bridge, you’ll need to pay a small admission fee which was not included in the tour. In the interest of time, we chose to move along to the next few scenic spots, but do try this out if you have time to spare!

#6: Jialeshui Scenic Area (佳樂水)

We were supposed to visit Jialeshui, an area of immense beauty within Kenting National Park, and a place where surfing activity was intense. But the recent typhoon in Sept/Oct destroyed part of the national park, and visitors were not allowed while reconstruction/conservation works were still in progress.

We could only watch longingly at the scenery as our private car left Jialeshui.

We passed by several picture-perfect Minsu (民宿) on the way to the next scenic stop. With clear blue skies and a clean-cut look, these looked so ultra-lovely. In fact, we’ve witnessed several couples taking their wedding photos here!! An idea to explore for our next trip here….

#7: Wind Blowing Sand (風吹沙)

“What a funny name!”, was the first thought that crossed my mind when our guide informed us of our next stop. But funny it was not to the locals, who had named it as such because of the sand carried by the strong wind currents blowing across the region. At certain times of the year, the condition will get so bad that huge amounts of sand gets deposited on the roads, making the rest of the area difficult to access.

According to our guide, this entire road could get blockages of sand when the condition gets bad!

Fortunately, we needn’t experience sand blowing in our faces when we visited. This place is incredibly beautiful and marks the start of a long coastline of immense beauty. Kenting may be relatively unknown to the world but it could easily rival Taroko National Park and the world-famous Great Ocean Road in Melbourne.

#8: Longpan Park (龍磐公園)

Longpan Park (龍磐公園) is just slightly down the road from Wind Blowing Sand (風吹沙) but offers a different viewing angle of the same coastline. I recall our guide asking us at the end of the day which part of the tour we enjoyed most, and our answer was unanimously Longpan Park. If Wind Blowing Sand (風吹沙) was impressive, then Longpan Park was breathtakingly-beautiful.

From our advantage point at the top of the hill, we could see far out to the deep blue reaches of the Pacific Ocean.

We could even hike down the hill to get closer to the coastline. The park offers an amazingly wide view of the horizon, and I can imagine watching sunrise/sunset or even star-gazing here.

#9: Eluanbi Park (鵝鸞鼻公園)

Eluanbi Park (鵝鸞鼻公園) is located at the southern most tip of Taiwan, where the Pacific Ocean and the Bashi Channel intersects. The main attraction at the park is the Eluanbi Lighthouse (鵝鸞鼻燈塔), known to be the most powerful lighthouse amongst the lighthouses of Taiwan.

Eluanbi Park is one of those areas where a token admission fee (60NT, approximately SGD$2.70) has to be paid to enter the park.

We thought that we could cover Eluanbi Park in under an hour, but as we found out for ourselves, this park has much more than just a lighthouse. For one thing, the park is huge! For another, since this park lies at the southernmost coastal tip of Taiwan, there’s much to see in terms of coastal scenery!

There are loads to explore at the Eluanbi Park. Things such as caves, gorges and rock formations are common at the park.

Climbing up to the sea pavilion to catch sight of the coastal scenery.

See the pointed mountain somewhere in the middle of the picture? That is Da Jian Shan (大尖山), one of the most significant and recognisable icons to the locals.

For a very long while, we were looking around for this kissing rock at the sea pavilion. We couldn’t spot one that looks remotely like it, and after we gave up looking for it, we realised that it was actually the huge rocks that were just next to the steps leading up to the sea pavilion!

#10: Shadao (砂島)

Shadao (砂島) is located only 1.5 km away from Eluanbi Park. It is actually a stretch of white beach formed by natural ground up seashells and coral debris. Apparently, these are the major components of most beaches in Kenting, giving rise to a high calcium carbonate content of its beaches. However at Shadao, the calcium carbonate content is exceptionally high.

Walking through these coral debris to get to the coastline can be quite fun!

For those of us who are interested to learn more about the geology of the area, there is also a free exhibition hall.

#11: Chuanfan Rock (船帆石)

This was only a pit-stop at its viewing platform.

See how small the people standing beside the rock are? That was how huge the rock was!!

Chuanfan Rock, also known as sail rock, rolled down to the coastline from a nearby plateau. From a distance, it looked like a sailboat about to set sail, hence its name. Up close however, it looked more like the profile of a human head, more specifically, it looked like the side profile of former US President Richard Nixon!

#12: Little Bay (小港)

Little Bay is actually very near to Chuanfan Rock, so we asked for another pit stop to watch the beach activities here. That's one of the advantages of engaging a private driver. You can stop whenever you wish. :)

Little Bay is actually also close to Kenting Main Street (垦丁大街)…..According to our guide, this street becomes a vibrant night market when dusk falls.

#15: Maobitou (貓鼻頭)

Our second last stop for the day, the last stop being at Guan Shan (關山) to watch the sunset. Although watching the sunset was also do-able at Maobitou, we preferred to do it at Guan Shan which was supposedly world-famous for its sunset views.

Maobitou, just like Eluanbi is located on a southern tip of the Taiwan Peninsular, although Eluanbi occupies a more southerly position. The viewing platforms at the top of the hill allows us to have a spectacular view of the penisular.

See that rock somewhere in the middle left of the photo? That’s Maoyan (貓岩), so named because it resembled a cat looking at you! What do you think?

#16: Guan Shan (關山)

Finally, we arrived at Guan Shan, the last stop for the day.

And we quickly paid the entry fee and hobbled up the hill to snag a good spot to catch that sunset….according to the signage here, Guan Shan is one of the top 12 places in the world to view a sunset! We were about to find out if it was indeed that impressive.

All of us waiting eagerly for the sun to set….

Sunset or not, the views here are simply stunning.

Like many things in life, getting to see a good sunset depends a lot on luck. And as luck goes, I seem to have very little of it in my life. You know you are not in for a spectacular sunset when the weather is this cloudy. Especially so when the said clouds cover the horizon where the sky meets the ocean. You know that you simply will not get to witness the beauty of the sun's crimson rays reflected across the peaceful ocean.

Final Thoughts

And that was, in a nutshell, how we experienced spectacular Kenting all in one day.
Sounds like a lot to cover within one day? You bet! However, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and this would never have been possible had we attempted to do this via public transport. This day-tour was a good investment in saving us precious time and effort in getting around.

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Tommy and Samantha are both avid travellers. Being full time salaried workers, they spend most of their off-days planning for their vacations. They strongly believe that planning forms part of the vacation and that an affordable holiday is possible for everyone, if they would take the time to read up and research on the best deals available. They live in sunny Singapore, a tiny island located at the South Eastern tip of the Malaysian Peninsular.This site is a travel blog that tells of their travel adventures through lots of photographs. It is also a travel resource for other like-minded tourists with travel itineraries and travel tips, reviews of hotels, airlines, restaurants and places of interests.